Convertible sound-box.



A E. PARNALL. CONVERTHBLE SOUND BOX.- umcmon men 14111112 1915.

1,198,265. PatentedSept. 12,1916.

STATES PATENT onnion. A

can: E. Pennant, or cuIcAeo, ILLINoIs, AssIenon' 'ro FRANK mums, i01

enrcaeo,

ILLInoIs.

"convnn'rInnn sounn-nox.

I?) all whom it'may concern:

Be it known that I, Ancnm E. PARNALL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chi cage, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements-in a Gonvertible Sound- Box, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, .forming a part of this specification.

My. invention relates to improvements in attachmentsfor talking machines with speecific reference to convertible sound boxes,

and has for its object the production of a device by means of which thesame sound box may be readily and quickly adjusted to play arecord of the ,hill-and dale type or one of the laterally undulating groove type. .1 g

A further object is the production of a de- ,vice that maybe readily and quickly attached to a machine, that consists of the minimum number of parts, can be cheaply constructed and not liable to get. out of order.

These and such other objects as may hereinafter appear are obtained by my device, an embodiment of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in whichsound conduitand alsoshowing a dilferent position of the reprodncer or sound box; 'Fig. 3 represents a top plan View similar to Fig. 2, but showing the reproducer or sound boxin position tooperate on a record disk of the laterally undulating groove type; and:Fig.l4-. represents a side elevation of Fig. 3.- 1 as -'Like' numerals *of reference -refer to dike parts in thefseveral figures of the drawings.

Referring-now to the drawings A represents a sound conduit;.B represents mynnprovedc'orinecting member, and C a reprofducer or box, the reproducer having Specification of Letters Patent; Pg tenigd Sept.v 12 1915 Application filed March 22,1915. serial-macaw."

an ordinary needle arm 1, a needlesupport 2 and a needle, 3. Thefsound box also is provided with a rearwardly, extending tube adapted tofit in either one of the openings in the member B. This member B, above referred to, comprises substantially an el bow pipe or tube having a body or main portion 5, a side member 6 and an end member 7, the side member 6 extending at right' angles to the body-61 main member 5, and the member being bent upwardly as shown clearly in Fig. 4;; the purpose of this being that this angle is best adapted to retain the sound box in proper position when in use on the machine. .The member 6 is slotted, as shown at 8, and the member 7 is slotted at 9, these slots being adapted to engage a pin 10 mounted on the engaging end 4 of the sound box and serving to hold the reproducer-or sound .box against lateral motion when the reproducer is slipped in place within the opentubes. A cap 11 is provided adapted to fit inor over the open end of the member B, that is the end that remains open when the reproducer is in operative position, the purpose being to prevent any escape of the sound which enters through the member B and into thesound conduit or arm A. The sound conduit or arm A is provided with a plurality of slots shown at 12 and the member B is provided .with a screw hole within which is mounted a screw 13 holding the member B in sliding connection with the arm. A. The slots 12 narrow at their extreme outer end as shown at 14, thus making it impossible for the member B to slip off of the arm as the screw 13 would strike against the constricted portion of the groove at. 15. The member B is preferably provided with a slight shoulder,

as shown at 16, providingfora snug fit =Fig. Q-"show'sthat with .the sound box in the positionf'indicate'cl in the circumvolve'si about a center 18, and "referen'ceto "mer case the vibration is vertical.

ference of the circle over which the needle travels is indicated at 19. It will be noted that in this position the sound box mounted on the member B is slipped into thesound conduit A as far as it can 0, further movement being prevented by t e'ngagement of the screw 13 against the end of the groove.

\Vhen the reproducer' is in the position shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the circumference of travel of the needle point is over the same line 19, as shown in full lines; the member B, however, being slipped out and occupying the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. When the sound box is taken oil with the arm in that position and replaced on the bent up end it is first in the position shown in the dotted lines in Fig. 2, the circumference of travel then being along the line 20. In order to give the needle point the same radius in all cases, the reproduccr and the member B are slipped back into the position shown in full lines in Fig. It will thus be seen that by reason of this adjustable feature the reproducing needle is made to travel over the same circumference regardless of the position the sound box occupies with respect to the member B.

In Fig. 2 I have shown the cap 11 on the end of the open member 6, while in Fig. 3 it is shown on the end of the member 7', the

idea being that at all times when the ma- 'chine is being played the cap must be in position over the open end.

The necessity for a device ofthis. character is well understood by reason of the fact that there are two well-recognized types of records that are used interchangeably on machines. The Edison disk record is of the type known as the hill and dale, meaning that the bottom of the record groove on which the sound is recorded is undulatory in form, the various modifications and characteristics of the sound being recorded vertically in the material at the bottom of the groove. In the other type of disks, known as the Columbia or Victor the record is made on the side of the groove and the' needle vibrates horizontally while the sound is recorded or reproduced, while in the for- In both cases, however,- the arm with the reproducer or recorder is moved toward the center of the disk by the revolution of the disk itself, the needle engaging the spiral groove of the record. The existence of these conditions makes it essential that the sound arm of a .machine be fitted in such a manner as to perm1t the playing of these different types of records and also fitted in such a manner as topermit ready and accurate adjustment of parts. These results, it will be seen, are ac- I complished by the use of my improved de- VICE as it only requires an instant to remove the reproducer from the side member when it'has been used in playing a Victor record, as shown in Fig. 3, and transfer it to the position shownin Fig. 1 ready to play an Edison record. v

A device of this character is extremely valuable in that it increases the capacity of the machine and makes available to .the owner'ofv a single machine all of the records of these types on the market.

\Vhile I have shown a very simple em hodi-ment of my device it is evident that modifications might .be made and accomplish similar results by other means, but any such means would be well within the scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is;--

A reproducing. machine comprising a swinging tubular tone-arm, a sound-box having a diaphragm and a tubular portion connected therewith and means for connecting said sound-box to said tone-arm comprising a member having three communicating tubular portions, the firstof said portions telescopically engaging said tubular tone-arm, the second tubular portion inclined upwardly and outwardly with respect to the axis of said tone-arm, and the other tubular portion extending substantially horizontally and laterally with respect to said first tubular portion, said second tubular portion being constructed to engage the tubular portion of the sound-box to hold the sound-box in in clined position with its diaphragm extending transversely to the axis of the tone-arm for use with a hill and dale record, and

said third portion being constructed to engagethe tubular portion of the sound-box to hold the sound-box with its diaphragm in a plane substantially parallel to the axis of the tpne-arm' for use with a laterally undulating groove record.

2. A reproducing machine comprising a. swinging tubular tone-arm, a sound-box having a diaphragm and a tubular portion connected therewith, and means for conaxis. of the tone-arm for use with a hill the first. tubular portion of said vconnecting and dalerecord, and said third portion means being slidably adjustable with re being constructed toeligage the tubular porspeet to the tone-arm.

'tion of the sound-box to hold the'sound-box In 'Witness whereof I have'hereunte sub- 5 with its diaphragm in aiplane substantially scribed my name.

parallel to the axis of'the tqne-arm for use i with a laterally undulating gnoovejrecord, ARCHIE E. PARNALL. 

